Cinema

Editor's note: The future of the late Roger Ebert's syndicated service is still undetermined. Richard Roeper will supply some reviews in the interim.

Editor's note: The future of the late Roger Ebert's syndicated service is still undetermined. Richard Roeper will supply some reviews in the interim.

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THE HEAT: On paper (and in the ads), "The Heat" looks like a high-concept pitch: a cop-buddy movie, only the buddies are — wait for it — dames! The good news is this Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy vehicle clicks on all cylinders. Thanks to standout performances from the enormously appealing leads, excellent work from the supporting cast, a smart and brilliantly funny script by Katie Dippold and nimble direction from Paul Feig, this is one of the most entertaining movies of the year. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

WHITE HOUSE DOWN: "White House Down," the second POTUS-in-danger film in three months, isn't supposed to be some gritty thriller. It's just a big, loud, popcorn movie from Roland Emmerich, director of "Independence Day." But "Transformers 3" was subtle compared to this nonsense. Emmerich doesn't flinch as he shamelessly borrows from better movies and constantly insults our intelligence with jingoistic manipulation and cheesy one-liners. Stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx seem to know they're in a dopey buddy movie. The rest of the cast is saddled with the impossible task of making us believe they are serious. Epic fail. — Richard Roeper

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AFTER EARTH: There was a time when an M. Night Shyamalan-directed film was a real event. From "The Sixth Sense" through "Unbreakable" and even "Signs," his gifts for suspense and surprise were such that he was earning comparisons to Spielberg and Hitchcock. That was a long time and many films ago. The sci-fi thriller "After Earth," starring Will Smith and son Jaden, is a film without wit or sparkle. At times the special effects look so cheesy you wonder if they're going to pull back and show members of the crew rocking the ship or working the strings on puppets. In the meantime, we keep getting heavy-handed metaphors about overcoming fear, and unbearably clunky dialogue. This movie is "Take Your Kid to Work Day" to the extreme. H — Richard Roeper

BEFORE MIDNIGHT: If you have not seen the previous films in this trilogy, I urge you to rent the first two. But even if you go into Richard Linklater's "Before Midnight" cold, you will be treated to a rich, smart, funny, sometimes acidic portrayal of a couple who can be spectacular when they're in tune — and toxic when they're at each other's throats. You may tire of them at times, as you would if you were in a room with them. But after they leave that room, you instantly find yourself anticipating the next time you'll drop in on their lives. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

EPIC: The latest animated film from Fox's Blue Sky division, "Epic" depicts good vs. evil forces battling over the fate of the natural realm. Director Chris Wedge ("Ice Age," "Robots") gives us lush, often breathtaking visuals of a world within our world — a forest populated by tiny Leaf Men who ride hummingbirds and do battle with an equally minuscule army of nasty creatures known as Boggans. An all-star cast provides the voice work, which proves to be distracting. Kids won't mind, but the voices will take adults out of the story. HH½ — Richard Roeper

FAST AND FURIOUS 6: Against all odds, the "Fast & Furious" franchise is actually picking up momentum, with "FF6" clocking in as the fastest, funniest and most outlandish chapter yet. Whether we're seeing stunt work or special effects or a combo platter, director Justin Lin keeps raising the bar, going for intentional laughs and thrilling moments as cars pull off impossible maneuvers and humans keep flying in the air and landing with thuds. "Furious 6" couldn't be any less plausible if it were animated, but that's sort of the point. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

FRANCES HA: Ms. Ha's life as a hapless single woman in New York City is a laughing matter. No review.

the great gatsby: Big and bold and brassy, Baz Luhrmann's "Gatsby" fills every second of its 142-minute running time with images designed to take your breath away, but it is first and foremost F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Gatsby." Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Gatsby, in perhaps the most overtly vulnerable version of the character, and Carey Mulligan gives a delicate, intricately crafted performance as Daisy Buchanan. Luhrmann's dazzling sense of visual style is perfectly suited to the first half of the movie, but when the story becomes more about confrontations, you can almost sense Luhrmann fidgeting as he tries to figure out how to keep the plates spinning. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

THE HANGOVER PART 3: Perhaps responding to criticism of the sequel or perhaps just wanting to challenge himself, director Todd Phillips has delivered a film so different from the first two "Hangovers," one could even ask if this is supposed to be a comedy. It plays more like a straightforward, real-world thriller with a few laughs than a hard-R slapstick farce. You don't see too many genre-hopping threequels, so, credit to Phillips and his team of co-writers for trying to do something different with the now-familiar characters of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and the ever-bland Doug (Justin Bartha). But the big fix might have changed things just a little too much. HH — Richard Roeper

THE INTERNSHIP: You won't be surprised by a single moment in "The Internship." Fifteen minutes in, you'll know exactly where it's going. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are 40ish salesmen suddenly out of a job who decide to reinvent themselves as trainees at Google. The story's so sunny even the villain seems like a half-hearted caricature who's more twit than threat. But the script is funny and cheerfully offbeat, and the cast is uniformly likable. I found myself rooting for the underdogs even as I was aware of the strings being pulled. HHH — Richard Roeper

Iron Man 3: Robert Downey Jr. is just plain great in this film. Filled with breathtakingly brilliant special effects, bolstered by excellent supporting performances from a half-dozen other top-tier actors, crackling with sharp humor and working as a story that stands alone while often acknowledging the larger Marvel(ous) universe, "Iron Man 3" is one of the best entries in this golden age of superhero movies. Working from a smart if sometimes meandering script, director Shane Black takes us on a 3-D thrill ride in which a LOT of stuff is blown up, and the skies are filled with superheroes, supervillains and humans falling to their deaths. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

MAN OF STEEL: This is the most ambitious and occasionally the most impressive take on the Superman myth we've ever seen, but it falls far short of the bar set by the "Dark Knight" trilogy or even the "Iron Man" troika. Though there are moments, even complete scenes, when we see glimpses of what might have been, we're plunged back into a mostly underwhelming film, with underdeveloped characters and supercharged fight scenes that drag on forever and offer nothing new in the way of special-effects creativity. Henry Cavill looks the part as Superman, Amy Adams plays the ever-plucky Lois Lane, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner are young Clark's loving parents. HH — Richard Roeper

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY: A slight and underwhelming prequel that isn't nearly as inventive, funny or involving as the original, "Monsters Inc." (2001). Though colorful and sweet-natured and occasionally capable of producing the mild chuckle, this is a safe, predictable, edge-free, nearly bland effort from Pixar, a studio that rarely hedges its bets. It's better than "Cars 2," but not in the same league as the "Toy Story" sequels. HH½ — Richard Roeper

NOW YOU SEE ME: Here's a slick con, all flash and no substance, about The Four Horsemen, illusionists who have been recruited to pull off some of the most audacious stunts in the history of deception. "Now You See Me" seems awfully sure of itself, with self-important, intrusive music, sweeping tracking shots and actors chewing up the scenery. Ultimately, however, there's no "there" there. By the time it's over, we're left with more questions than answers — and even more damning, we don't care all that much about those unanswered questions. H½ — Richard Roeper

THE PURGE: The government allows an annual 12-hour period when any criminal activity — even murder — is legal. Cue mayhem and the questioning about the human monster within each of us as Ethan Hawke battles to protect his family. No review.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: Director J.J. Abrams is a true talent, and he's also a pop-culture savant who has great respect for the legacy of this franchise as well as a keen understanding of the mega-importance of box-office figures. There's no better choice to make the best, the purest AND the most accessible big-budget "Star Trek" movie possible. Yet with all the futuristic splendor and fine performances, "Into Darkness" only occasionally soars, mostly settling for being a solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapter(s). With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch. HHH — Richard Roeper

THIS IS THE END: Here's one of the most tasteless, ridiculous and funniest comedies of the 21st century. In its own sloppy, raunchy, sophomoric, occasionally self-pleased and consistently energetic way, "This Is the End" is just about perfect at executing its mission, which is to poke fun at its stars, exhaust every R-rated possibility to get a laugh, and even sneak in a few insights into Hollywood, the celebrity culture and the nature of faith. HHHH — Richard Roeper

WORLD WAR Z: If you're as zombie'd out as I am by now, and you feel "The Walking Dead" cable TV series has set the all-time standard for popular culture entertainment about the flesh-chomping undead, your reluctance to see "World War Z" is understandable. All I can tell you is, there's fresh blood here. "World War Z" traffics in a lot of familiar territory, but thanks to the wickedly vibrant source material (Max Brooks' 2006 horror novel), some slick and darkly funny directorial choices by Marc Forster and terrific performances from Brad Pitt and the supporting cast, it's entertaining as hell. HHH½ — Richard Roeper

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